Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, proposed Senate Bill 48, also known as the Fair Education Act, last month in hopes to acknowledge gay Americans in classroom textbooks and prevent gay bullying in California public schools; however, there are many opposing the bill.

“There isn’t social science that demonstrates that teaching children about the glories of the gay rights movement will reduce bullying,” Tucker Carlson said on the Dec. 17 episode of Fox News’ & Friends.

Growing up gay in the Central Valley isn’t easy. In fact, it’s tough for many young gay teens because exposure to people like themselves is a rare occurence. The high school I attended in Bakersfield did not carry books that showcased historical gay characters or gay public figures. Celebrities had yet to come-out and I had never heard the name Harvey Milk until the movie “Milk” released in theaters in 2008. And in many instances, I am the first gay person that many people in the Central Valley ever meet.

Fresno is one of the most conservative cities in California and has yet to fully accept its gay community. There are some people that are only OK with gay people as long as they stick to the stereotype roles of gay males working in cosmetics, retail and fashion. But most are not OK with homosexuals taking leadership roles in the community. Senate Bill 48 will inspire gay youth to believe that they too, could one day, be elected to serve in office, and make a difference like their predecessors.

“In this circumstance history would flagrantly be rewritten with propaganda favoring pro-homosexual messages in the schools,” writes Rebecca Burgoyne, CFC Research Analyst with California Family Council, who opposes the new bill.

The new bill will not re-write history as Burgoyne says; it will teach students on real events that otherwise would not have been learned. The majority of college students have no idea what the Stonewall riots were. I only know about the event because of a gay documentary I saw on Netflix after coming out.

Gay history is as important as the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement. They are two minorities that fought for equal rights. Learning about the struggle has helped many students understand about minorities and learning about gay history will help students understand gay peers and their struggle that is still visible today.

Gay teens need positive role models and the public school system is not providing them with the correct education to inspire them for greatness.
Sen. Leno said in his press release, “Our collective silence on this issue perpetuates negative stereotypes of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender people and leads to increased bullying of young people.”